Poison, Salt and Stone
by poplarleaves
Summary: War, fate, blood, love - is there any end? In the war-torn landscape of Hoenn, our favorite characters return to fight, each with their own stories of tragedy - and each faced with the choice of Aqua or Magma. Contestshipping and Pokeshipping.
1. Terror

_Crap. Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap._

He ran and ran and ran, not stopping even when his lungs threatened to give out, not when his legs shook and his vision blurred. At last the cavern was behind him. A shudder. That _monster_ was behind him. Thank Groudon. Thank Arceus.

For a moment he crouched on the stone floor, heaving gasps becoming steady breaths until he could stand. The world spun around him as he moved onto his feet, swaying. One hand groped on his belt for his communicator. It was too dangerous. He couldn't let this go unnoticed.

A few dry coughs and a shudder. He collapsed onto the rock, fingers pressing the buttons with fevered speed. A beep sounded. He spoke.

"This… is 34," he moaned.

A voice crackled through, sharp and commanding, disrupted by the rock walls but clear enough to discern. For once he was glad that Magmacoms were designed to send signals through sheer rock.

"Report, thirty-four," the voice said.

The boy gathered his breath to answer. "Need to speak with… Maxie."

The voice seemed slightly perturbed by his statement. "Are you sure, thirty-four?"

"Yes." Another gulp of air, and he pressed the button. "Send down Squad Eight. All my Pokemon are down." His breath started to return. "This is urgent. I _need_ to speak with Maxie."

"Sending Squad Eight. Be aware that you're losing your rank if this is a sham," the voice said warningly. "Your location?"

"The forbidden passage."

A silence. Then, "Squad Eight departing. You will speak with Maxie aboveground."

The boy sighed and lay back down, chest still heaving. Blood pounded dully through his brain. It would all be right when he told Maxie. Everything would be fine. He would tell his story, and they would deal with it. That... thing. The monster. Yes.

Everything would be fine.

**_~blood~~~~~~_**


	2. Sorrow

A lone man sat at his desk, poring over the papers scattered before him. The room was dark save for the small pool of light around his desk. He covered his face with his hands slowly, rubbing the skin, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes.

"Mew2," he whispered.

_Possibly the most destructive force in the world._

"It's so dangerous."

_And possibly the only way to bring the Magmas back into power._

"Yes. So true," came the murmur, and his head nodded. He shook himself awake. "Groudon, I've been so tired recently," he said out loud, then shrank from the silence. He gazed at the report, just as he had done for the last week. Some clumsy grunt had accidentally discovered the superclone of Mew residing deep within Mount Ember and had reported it directly to Maxie. Further investigations had confirmed the report.

Maxie shuffled and reshuffled the papers, staring at the rows and rows of information. The super-Pokemon was rumored to have been created originally for the sake of Team Rocket. However, due to its immense power, the Pokemon destroyed the lab and the scientists who had worked to create it. The Magma Leader smiled grimly to himself. He wouldn't underestimate the superclone like the Rockets had.

"If we only manage to control it," he mused, "it could provide the force we need to subdue the Aquas again. They've been getting too strong recently; their ranks are swelling every day. They could soon crush us easily."

"Maxie."

He turned to the door to see Courtney, one of his Admins, in the doorway. Her eyes were pained. "Maxie - sir - get some rest."

Maxie stared at the papers again. "_No_."

"Maxie," Courtney said.

"Didn't you hear what I said? _No._"

"You're impossible," she muttered under her breath.

The Leader turned to face her, eyes like stone. "Admin Courtney. Leave."

"Sir--"

"When I give you an order," he growled, "you obey it. Now, _leave_."

The Admin bowed her head slightly. "I'm sorry, sir. I'll leave you now."

The door slammed shut behind Courtney as Maxie resumed his reading. He couldn't abandon this; it was too promising. As long as they managed to control Mew2, as long as they found some way to channel its power, it would only be a matter of time before they had Archie groveling at their feet. Yes, it was risky, but it was the fastest way to get rid of that idiot Archie with his insane dream of filling the world with oceans. A while ago, Maxie himself had dreamt of expanding the land, but by now he had realized that it was, as many had told him, insane. Now Team Magma existed solely for the sake of keeping Team Aqua from taking over entirely, their original vision abandoned.

"It's almost a religion for the Aquas now," murmured Maxie. "Their god is Kyogre and their prophet is Archie. Pitiful. Although I shouldn't be talking. Because now--" he smiled wryly, "--the only reason for Team Magma's existence is revenge. It's the only thing we know."

He turned off the light and shivered in the sudden cold as he stood. Mew2 would have to be captured, one way or another. It was unavoidable. Even if Team Magma didn't somehow subdue it, Team Aqua would eventually attempt to make it theirs.

_Might as well be the first one to have it,_ he thought.

He left the room and closed the door.

**_~blood~~_**

As he strolled down the main hall of the Magma central quarters, a certain green-haired, green-eyed junior Admin couldn't help but smile.

He had far exceeded his own hopes today. By chance, he and a few grunts had ambushed some Aquas hiding in an abandoned lot. The group had given up quickly. Likely as not they were deserters and wouldn't have any useful information, but it had been amusing all the same to see them feebly counterattacking.

_Writhing in the dirt like Wurmples_, he thought, and chuckled darkly. Then he sobered. _Not every Aqua's useless. There are more than enough dangerous ones out there._

This was regrettably true. The Aquas had been growing in power over the last two years, their numbers threatening to crush what remained of Team Magma. In Mauville alone, Aquas swarmed by the hundreds. They had taken over the city in a flash, utilizing their control over the electricity supply to take power. Recently there had also been rumors of a new, specialized elite force dubbed by many as the Mightyenas. Drew suppressed an involuntary shudder, sickened by the thought. _More Aquas, more bloodshed._

At that moment, however, his mind was focused on other things. He moved down a side corridor, turned, and continued toward the living quarters. Pausing beside a door, his eyes flickered to the plated steel covering, raising a hand to knock. Before he had a chance to even touch the metal surface, however, the door was flung open, and two azure eyes met his.

"Drew," May said breathlessly. No more was needed. Without hesitation, he pressed her to the wall, caging her, his arms pulling her closer to his body. A smile, and he kissed her, lips moving against hers. Dimly, he heard her gasp as he moved his lips down her throat to where her shirt began. With mild annoyance he started to edge the cloth off her shoulder, but May stopped him with a firm hand.

Her eyes, when he met them, were flinty. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked sharply.

"Seducing you." He saw her start at his words. "What did you think?"

"I…" She blushed. "I…"

Drew's mouth twitched. "You're so cute when you're embarrassed."

"S-shut up," but she refused to meet his gaze.

"Scared?" he whispered, when he pulled her close.

"No." A little too quickly.

"Do you want to know," he half-laughed in her ear, "the true meaning of fear?"

"Drew!"

"No, really."

May rolled her eyes. "Stop teasing me. You shouldn't be here, anyways." She cast a quick glance down the hall, thinking that she had seen a flicker of motion. "It's dangerous. We can't let anyone _know,_" a note of desperation in her voice. "If anyone finds out, you could… we could…"

"Who cares? I don't."

"Just stop teasing me."

"I am _not_ teasing you," Drew murmured bemusedly.

"You are and you know it."

"No."

She glanced up at him.

"No."

"What?"

"No, I'm not teasing you this time." His voice held a harder edge.

"Drew—"

And then she stopped in midsentence because he'd kissed her again, slowly, savoring every touch of their skin, his hands pinning her wrists to the wall as he _ever so carefully_ kissed her senseless...

"Hey." He felt a hand on his shoulder. "No lovemaking in the hallways."

Drew turned and met eyes with one of the most pompous, stuck up junior Admins with the skills to match - Gary Oak. The brunette stood there with his arms crossed, smirking, watching them.

"Gary," Drew said in recognition. He felt May stiffen by his side, and his arm tightened around her. His eyes seemed to spark with dim anger. "Do you mind?"

A hint of a smile appeared at Gary's mouth, and he chuckled. "Alright. Point taken. We Admins have to stick together, huh?" He chuckled again, darkly. "I'll just let the two of you have some fun, then." He winked at May before walking away again. Drew suppressed an urge to slam his fist into the other Admin's face.

_He's only an Admin because of his connections to the Professor,_ he thought bitterly. _Still, he's kept his position fairly well, even though he's stuck-up, arrogant, conceited bastard._

_Sounds like me,_ he concluded wryly.

To his surprise, he heard May sigh.

"I feel so cheated."

"Of what?" he asked.

"Of... time. With you."

Amused, he turned to her again and nuzzled her neck. "We'll have time someday, I promise. After everything's over."

She sighed again. "Why is it that I don't think 'everything' will be over anytime soon?"

"It'll end." He kissed her, softly. "It has to end sometime. The war, the fighting, the blood..." He stopped, seeing her eyes cloud, those clear blue eyes. "Is it Max?" he whispered.

"Yes. I still can't forget him." She buried her face in his shirt, as if she was trying to hide her tears from him, as if she didn't know he could feel her every pain. "I had a dream last night. The same one as before." Drew nodded, urging her to go on as if she wouldn't go on anyways. "It's so stupid, but I still can't let it go. I mean my memory of him. They came so fast. I didn't think they would... they killed Mom and Dad... and Max. It was so long ago," she sobbed, "but I can still remember the fear on his face. He was so small and helpless. I was holding him.

"And they ripped him out of my arms."

Drew's hands clenched into fists at his sides. The Aquas. Merciless, powerful, and insane. That's what they were. Most favored attacking first and asking questions later. Too many deaths and too little negotiation. They were demons, that's what they were. _Every one of them_...

He held May close as she cried. They had taken her entire family in a single night. They had taken his own family. Even Gary's parents had died one night, when the Aquas had swept through Littleroot, their eyes ablaze with madness as they smashed ruthlessly through the peaceful homes. Every Magma alive had suffered at least one loss to those demons. Among the Magmas, the night after the Aqua's fearsome attack on Mauville, there had spread a single, uniting phrase.

_Deadly as venom. Seawater in their veins. Hearts as hard as granite._

_Poison, salt and stone._

**_~blood~~~_**


	3. Bitterness

Misty Waterflower, Admin of Team Aqua, was in a very dangerous position.

She paced slowly back and forth along the narrow hallway, trying to keep calm, trying to look natural. Of course, this was helped by her bright red hair, which most of the bloodline Magmas possessed. With her hair, it was practically a given that she was one of them.

She shuddered at the thought. Her? A Magma? Never. Not when they had killed her family and crippled her only surviving sister. Not when they had sparked the fire that had enveloped all of Cerulean City in its flames. That one time, even the Rockets had been forced to flee their hideouts like the bugs they were. All of her friends, all of her family had died except for Daisy, and even she had not escaped unscathed.

_Curse them and their black souls_, she thought darkly. Her gaze was sharp upon two Magmas, walking down the corridor. Neither of them was the one she was trying to spy on. Stupid grunt work. Stupid guard shift. Stupid narrow halls. She had to admit, it was difficult to spy on people inconspicuously when there was no one else but her in the hallway.

A sudden commotion caught her attention, and she stopped at the beginning of another corridor. Voices floated down toward her.

"--let the two of you have some fun then," finished the Magma Admin. He turned, winked at the girl in the other young man's arms, and began walking toward Misty.

Misty averted her eyes, heart pounding as the Admin neared. He scrutinized her, his dark eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "New, are you?" he murmured.

"Yes... _sir_." She wouldn't be able to wash _that_ bad taste out of her mouth for hours. "Just joined about a week ago."

"Really." A hint of a smile seemed to appear, but the Admin quickly frowned again. Misty stowed this piece of information in her mind. _Able to hide his expression._

"Is there a problem?" she asked honestly, almost sweetly.

The Admin shook his head, seeming slightly perturbed. "No. Carry on." He gave her one more glance before walking away.

Thank Kyogre, he was gone. Misty stopped herself from sighing in relief and instead focused triumphantly on the couple farther down the hall. Thanks to the Admin earlier, she had found the one Archie had sent her to gather information on specifically. She let her gaze run over him. Green hair and green eyes. Unusual for an Admin. Likely as not he had made it into the top ranks based on ability alone, no blood ties. Misty watched as the girl beside him suddenly dissolved into tears, burying her face in his shirt, clinging to him. Misty nearly smiled. His girlfriend, possibly. She looked like a medic. A valuable piece of knowledge. It even looked like he actually _cared _about the girl. Now Misty really smiled. If this worked out the right way, they might even be able to manipulate him. Hah. Little Magma bugs. The only reason for their existence was so that Aquas could squash them.

She walked casually down the hall, eyes flickering once to another grunt passing by, then broke into a sprint once she knew the coast was clear. In a week she had already memorized the layout of the place, and within seconds she was outside, pushing through the sparse undergrowth of the jagged pass above Lavaridge Town. She stumbled to a halt and kneeled beside a short, stubby tree, ice-blue eyes raking the landscape. Fingers trembling, she pulled out a communicator from her belt, one that she had disguised as a Magmacom, and pressed a button. The signal wouldn't be detected by Magma receivers; it was tuned to a channel expressly for Aquas. Taking a deep breath, she reported on her findings, all the while scanning the area.

"...it's fifty-seven. Yes... Admin Drew... apparently... medic with brown hair, blue eyes... yes, this is directly to Archie." A click, and she disconnected.

She sighed, leaned back against the tree and closed her eyes, sacrificing sight for rest. It wasn't like anyone would notice she was gone that early, right? The hairs on the back of her neck rose as an unseen gaze swept through the area. Then it was gone. A sigh escaped her lips.

_Abandoning my guard shift,_ she thought grimly. _I have to, but I'll probably get demoted. Hah. Lower than a grunt? Is there such a thing?_

To her horror, it seemed as if she had been talking aloud, because a voice answered.

"Do you really want to know?" asked Gary Oak, sweetly, innocently. Misty spun around, eyes widening as she crouched in the dirt. The Magma Admin continued in a lazy drawl. "There actually is something lower than a grunt." He gave a signal - Misty noted this as well - and a dozen grunts appeared by his side. Misty froze, muscles tensed, her eyes locking with Oak's. Not good. The Admin had probably noticed, somehow, and tailed her. _How stupid_, she thought, _that an Aqua Admin would be bested by a Magma._

Forcing herself to breathe calmly, she smiled sheepishly and said, "I-I'm sorry, sir, I just wanted some rest so I came out here." She stopped as the grunts inched closer. "Am I going to be punished?" she inquired, playing the ignorant newbie.

"Of course." Oak smiled coldly. "I'll have you know, we don't take disobedience well."

"R-really, sir?"

"Would you be surrounded by us if we did?"

"I..." _Damn him. Damn him. _"I guess not, sir."

"Smart girl, aren't you?" Then he glanced at the gadget in her hands and plucked it from her grasp. "Oh? What's this?"

"Standard Magma communicator," she responded, stiffly. "Also known as a Magmacom. I'm sure you've seen one before."

Oak gave her a bemused look. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Completely sure?"

"Yes, _sir_." She resisted the urge to spit the word in his face.

"Then what--" he pried open the cover on the back and showed it to the grunts, "--is this?"

Misty stared blankly at the symbol etched onto the inside of the cover, a cross between an A and a skull-and-crossbones, white on a dark blue background. The Magma smirked.

"Well, well. You seem to be fairly interested in our _enemies._ Even stole one of their communicators and disguised it as ours. Clever." He stowed the gadget in his pocket.

"So, you wanted to know what was lower than a grunt? Well, since you asked," a slow smirk spread across his face, "there's something we like to call... a prisoner."

A dark chuckle ran around the group surrounding Misty, and she tensed, calculating. Her eyes darted around the area, looking for some opening, some way she could escape. The circle closed in tighter, and the grunts began to call out their Pokemon. Soon, Mightyenas growled, pacing, whimpering with the desire to kill. Camerupts scraped the ground impatiently alongside Magcargos, eager for battle. Golbats screeched, circling the air.

Misty gritted her teeth. "Starmie!" she called, tossing a Pokeball into the air. It opened with a flash of light, revealing a purple, star-shaped Pokemon, a red jewel at its center. The Starmie fell into a battle stance. "Hydro Pump!"

The Pokemon jumped and began to spin in midair, spraying water from its rays, forcing back the surrounding Pokemon. Grunts and their Pokemon scattered beneath the jets of water.

Gary rolled his eyes as he dodged the spray. "That thing is _dead_. Umbreon!" A dog-like creature sprang from his Pokeball, completely black-furred aside from the yellow rings around its ears and tail, forehead and legs. "Faint Attack!" he shouted.

"Bre!" The black-and-yellow-furred Pokemon's eyes began to glow, and it crept close to Starmie. Within the moment that Starmie turned, Umbreon leapt up, tackled it, then jumped away as the star attempted to counter. Starmie staggered, then righted itself.

"Psychic, Starmie!"

The jewel at Starmie's center glowed with red light that soon enveloped the surrounding trees. With a slight flick of one ray, a single tree was uprooted and flung towards the Umbreon. It dodged, only to be beseiged with more trees. Foliage and splintered bark rained from the sky as the Umbreon continued to dodge.

The Admin rolled his eyes. "Ho-oh, help us. Umbreon, Psychic. And--" another Pokeball flew into the air, "Alakazam. Psychic."

"Hydro Pump, Starmie!" Misty shouted.

"Confusion, Alakazam. Umbreon, use Shadow Ball."

"Dammit," Misty muttered, as Starmie fell once again. "Come out, Gyarados!"

A blue-scaled serpent towered above the clearing, roaring, jaws open wide.

"Hyper Beam!"

Points of light began to gather at the serpent's mouth, focusing into a glowing beam that blasted Umbreon and Alakazam into the trees. Oak swore and tossed out another Pokeball.

"Arcanine!" A large dog with flaming fur leapt out the Pokeball, snarling. "Use Extremespeed!"

Misty was left stunned as Gyarados crashed into the ground, the impact sending clouds of dust into the air. "Get up, Gyarados!" she called, rushing over. "It was only a little Extremespeed! Come on!" The water Pokemon began to flail around, striking out at the Arcanine with its tail. "Hydro Pump it!" The serpent roared again, the sound reverberating throughout the clearing. Misty noted with a small prick of triumph that the grunts had already fled, unwilling to face certain injury. "Go on, Hydro Pump!"

A jet of water slammed into the Arcanine, catching it unawares. The dog tumbled into a tree, growling and shaking off the water as it stood again. Apparently, it wasn't going down easily. Out of the corner of her eye, Misty saw the Umbreon ready itself to attack.

"Gyarados, Bite Umbreon! Starmie, use Hydro Pump on Arcanine!"

The ground pitched and rolled as Gyarados thrashed about, its jaws barely a second behind the black-and-yellow Umbreon. Starmie lifted into the air, spinning, its Hydro Pump lashing Arcanine repeatedly as the dog attempted to close in on the weakened Pokemon. Meanwhile, Misty's eyes darted into the trees. Oak had disappeared. Definitely not a good sign. Likely as not he planned to incapacitate her while she was distracted with the battle. A dirty trick.

"Two can play at that game," she muttered to herself. Silently, she retreated back into the thicker part of the foliage, all the while scanning the area for the Magma. By now all the grunts should have fled the battlefield, she reasoned. No worries there. But she couldn't catch even a hint of that Magma uniform on the landscape. She withdrew her Pokemon, watching as her opponent's Pokemon disappeared as well. Silence closed in as her mind began to turn. _He must be somewhere nearby if he withdrew them. He took to the trees? No, too little coverage there. Maybe behind that ledge. Or the tall grass. No, not enough of it. The ledge, then._

She fell to her hands and knees and began to crawl away from the ledge. If she left now, at least she'd get away with her life and some knowledge, though she'd be short one Aquacom. She grimaced at the thought. With the little device, the Magmas could wreak havoc on the Aqua communication systems. Even with their diminished forces, the Magmas were a force to be reckoned with, and they would likely use the chance to retaliate. Misty paused, battling with herself. Should she leave the Aquacom and doom Team Aqua to months of instability, or should she risk her life and take that sliver of a chance?

_Take the chance. Take it. Take the risk._

A smile curved her lips. This was what she lived for, wasn't it? Thwarting the enemy. Particularly Magmas.

Within seconds she was sprinting toward the ledge, a makeshift plan forming in her mind. It wasn't one of her best plans, but then again the Aquas were known for their recklessness, and the brains were left to the Magmas. One swift movement and she landed on the other side of the ridge, pivoting almost before she landed. Gary Oak stared at her as she stepped toward him.

"You think you're so smart," Misty spat at him, "you just think you're so _wonderful,_ don't you?" With a single flicker of motion she had a gun aimed between his dark eyes. The Admin froze as Misty continued. "You little _bugs_ just think that you're so elite, so great at tactics and strategies. I bet you think that you're going to make a comeback and overthrow us Aquas in the next few years, don't you? Well, you see--" she cocked the gun almost lazily, smiling faintly in triumph,

"I'm not letting that happen."

A single shot rang out in the small clearing, smoke rising into the air. For a moment, Gary Oak thought he was dead. Then he realized with slight annoyance that he wasn't, and that Misty Waterflower was lying on the ground while a grunt held her down. The gun had been knocked off course just before the Aqua had pulled the trigger.

"I was wondering when you were going to jump out and save me," he said, raising his voice above Misty's muffled protests. "As you can see," he watched as the grunt relieved Misty of her gun and held chloroform to her nose, "I was in a fairly dangerous situation."

The grunt stood and straightened once he had bound and gagged Misty, whose movements stopped completely as she sank into sleep. The grunt gave Oak a look. "I was waiting for the right timing. If I'd rushed out before, she would've gotten both of us."

Oak chuckled. "Amazing. You actually thought about your actions this time, Ash Ketchum. Seeing how you rarely use that brain of yours, if you have one. But if it had been _me_ saving _you_, that wouldn't have been a problem." He smirked at the grunt, who looked like he was about to spew a string of profanities at him. "Still, I can't say you didn't save me," he relented.

"And you'd better remember it," muttered Ash, as Oak strode past him, moving toward the entrance to the Magma base. He looked down at the Aqua lying at his feet, then up at Oak once again. "Hey, what do I do with her?"

Oak stopped and gave the girl a thoughtful look. "I think..." he began, then walked back, picked her up, and slung her over his shoulder. The grunt blinked in surprise. Gary Oak wasn't known for doing the dirty work himself. Could he possibly be interested in this Aqua?

He shrugged and followed the Admin. He had to appreciate this rare moment of grace. They were rare enough already.

**_~blood~~~~~~~_**


	4. Fear

The leader of Team Aqua sat in his chair, in his office, in the temporary Aqua base stationed in Mauville, staring at a report in consternation. The report itself had been compiled by several of the Aqua informants planted in the Magma main base. He ran over it a few times, then slammed the papers down on the desk. One hand clenched into a fist.

"Shelly. Matt."

His two most trusted Admins stood by his side, bracing themselves. The Leader was not known for his good tempers.

"Could you two _please_ explain to me," he waved a hand at the stack of papers, "how one of our most highly recommended junior Admins was _captured_?"

Shelly shifted uneasily when Archie's burning gaze fell on her. "She... _was_... one of our most highly recommended junior Admins."

"Apparently the recommendation wasn't earned, according to our other plants," muttered the Leader. His eyes moved to Matt. "Is there anything you would like to add?" he almost sneered.

"I was very impressed with her skills and abilities," said the Admin, truthfully. "And she seemed very loyal. One of the ones who would lay down their life for you and your _vision_."

"Really," mused the Leader. It didn't seem as if he had noticed the dryness in Matt's voice when he had said "vision". "Now, why didn't she _display_ these supposed skills and abilities when she was _captured_? Hm?"

"Perhaps the Magmas managed to overwhelm her with numbers or one of their own Admins, sir," Shelly cut in. Her blood seemed to freeze as Archie began to drum his fingers on his desk. "We don't know for sure whether or not it was a question of her skill and experience. I have personally seen what the girl can--"

"And yet she was captured," mused the Aqua Leader. "She was captured, despite her skills, ability, experience, and loyalty, and above all it was done by those _Magma bugs._"

Shelly could feel her heart pounding as Archie stood, looming over both of his Admins with a look in his eyes that could cut through steel. Slowly, methodically, he reached out a hand and pinned Shelly to the wall by her neck, pressing deeper with every word he spoke. "_You_ recommended her, Shelly! _You_ were the one who told me how wonderful and talented she was! And now I receive this, this report compiled by all of our other plants in the Magma base, detailing her capture and confinement-- all within the first week she's been out there," he growled, face twisted into a fearsome snarl. Shelly struggled in his grip, fighting to breathe.

"Sir!"

Archie dropped Shelly and turned to face Matt, leaving the other Admin coughing on the floor. "_What_."

"There was something that Admin Misty relayed to us just before she was captured," said Matt, hopefully.

"Yes?"

"Apparently, Magma Admin Drew has a point of leverage we can use. His supposed girlfriend."

Archie strode over to his desk again and skimmed through the last few pages of the report.

"Is this reliable?" he asked sharply.

"Er, yes. We believe it to be so," Matt said stiffly. "It seems as if some of our other informants have also had rumors of this, though Misty is the first to confirm it."

"Hm. Good." A slow smile spread across Archie's face. "Then... we may not need your_ precious Misty_," directed at Shelly, who was still massaging her throat, "this time around." He turned and began to walk out of the room.

"W-wait."

Archie whirled around and glared at Matt. "What?"

"We're simply going to abandon Misty, just like that?"

"Yes. What did you think?"

"I-I thought... maybe..." the Admin gulped, fully aware that he was on the brink of losing his rank, "we would offer Admin Drew's girl in exchange for Misty."

"No!" Archie slammed a fist against the wall, startling both of his Admins. "First of all, they wouldn't accept our measly offer. No matter how much poor little Drew cares for that May-girl, Maxie won't just give up an Admin of ours for a medic. Compared to Misty, May's nothing to him. Second of all," he continued, "we need Drew's allegiance as one of our informants. I know that those Magmas are up to something, and I'm not losing a way to find out what it is. If Drew gives us the wrong info or lets it slip that he's helping us, his girl gets a little... shall I say... roughed up?" An insane light gleamed in his eyes. "And if Misty's a prisoner, she is no way as valuable as Drew, who has access to most of the information in the Magma base. We need to keep this May's capture a secret from Maxie, or Drew's useless to us. They'd just lock him up. How much more do I have to spell it out for you?"

"So," Shelly coughed, "are you planning to ask Trynn for this?"

Archie smiled almost benevolently at the Admin he had nearly strangled a moment before. "Why, yes. How did you read my mind?" then a dark chuckle. "Yes, I'm going to use the Mightyenas on this one. And not the Pokemon. The team. They've been _hungry_ for weeks," he snickered, and then his laughter followed him out the door, lingering for a second in the cold room.

Shelly shivered. "Matt?" she said, when she was sure that Archie had gone. "Do you think," a dry cough, "that we're right to do this? That we are right in following Archie? Do you think--" and she took a deep breath, "--that Archie might be a little insane?"

Matt watched her for a second. _She could be testing my loyalty_, he thought. _She could be doing this for Archie, to see if I'm still loyal to him._

Then he saw the raw fear in her eyes, and he relented.

"I think... he just might be."

A sob from Shelly, and she buried her face in her hands. "Dammit," he heard her groan. For a long time there was no sound but for Shelly's labored breathing. Then, "What do we do? What do we _do?_ Do we obey him? Or do we just run away?"

"No," Matt said darkly. "We can't run. He's crazy. The mad can do anything. He'll catch you if you run, and then he'll torture you within an inch of your life." He shuddered.

"And he'll laugh while he's doing it."

**_~blood~~~~~_**

Archie strode confidently down the hall, smiling. He didn't smile often, he knew. This time, however, was an occasion worthy of a smile.

He flung open a door into a near-dark room, where a lone teenager sat before a desk very like Archie's own, on which was set a laptop. The teenager tapped away at the keyboard, glancing at Archie for only a sliver of a second before resuming. His large glasses flashed in the darkness.

"Trynn," said Archie.

"Yes, Leader?" came the emotionless voice. The typing stopped.

"I have a mission for the Mightyenas this time," said the Leader.

Trynn snapped the laptop shut and swiveled in his chair to face Archie. "What is it, sir?" he asked blandly, pushing his thick glasses higher on his nose.

"Your mission is to capture a single girl. Here are the details," he handed over several papers, including one with May's picture, "and the main requirement for this mission is that it must not be seen by the Magmas as an attack by elite Aqua forces. It must be discreet and subtle. At best, you are not detected at all and the Magmas only note this girl's absence as a typical disappearance. At worst, you are sighted and mistaken as rogue Aquas. Rogues, understand? This cannot be connected to the central command of Team Aqua in any way."

"You're going to manipulate someone using this medic, is that right?"

Archie nearly blinked in surprise. He was becoming used to it, but Trynn's use of logic often caught him off guard. The fifteen-year-old wasn't a genius for nothing. "Yes."

"Of course. And the person being manipulated would be Drew, the Magma Admin whom you have been investigating recently. I understand that the junior Admin you sent after Drew was captured. Misty, right?"

"Yes," said the Aqua Leader. _Smartass, _he thought. _Someday, I'm going to beat this little brat down to size. Someday, when those Mightyenas of his are out of the way..._

Trynn nodded. "I understand. I was wondering if you would present me with this soon. Seems as if I was right." He resumed typing. "Is there anything else, sir?"

_Yes, I'd like you to let me wring your sorry little neck_, thought Archie. However, because of the boy's usefulness, what he really said was, "Yes. Give Drew an Aquacom, once he knows of May's disappearance."

"Are you sure?"

Archie hesitated. "Yes. Do you have any objections?"

"None, aside from the fact that Drew might not actually care about May. However, if Misty was a reliable source, which I personally believe she was, that shouldn't be a problem. It's risky, but well worth it if we succeed. Which we will." If it had been a regular grunt talking to him, Archie would likely have told him that he didn't care what Trynn personally believed, but this was a genius with control over one of the most powerful forces in all of Team Aqua. The teenager continued, with only slightly more of a chance of being beaten up in a dark alley on a dark night. "Drew might stake his hopes on help from Maxie, but I doubt that he'd be that stupid. It's not like Maxie would ever send out Magmas just to recover one little medic, no matter how near and dear to Drew's heart she is."

Archie glanced sharply at the boy. Was that wit? "Yes, yes, I know, kid. And this is to be done as soon as possible."

"I'm on it. Sir."

Archie left the room, shuddering inside. To be honest with himself, which he often was not, Trynn was frightening in his own way. Maybe it was his genius, maybe it was the way the room went cold whenever he talked, or perhaps it was because there was an uber-powerful team of Aquas and their Pokemon assembled behind him, handpicked by Archie himself. The Aqua Leader had a strong suspicion that it was a combination of all three. It was odd enough that the Mightyenas always seemed to report to Trynn first and then to Archie, as their initial allegiance was supposedly to Archie. Trynn, for that matter, had simply been appointed as the coordinator of the Mightyenas' movements, due to his apparent genius for strategy and tactics. Tch. The kid was such a know-it-all. If Archie hadn't known better, he would have said that Trynn was a Magma. Of course, that wasn't possible. Trynn's family had been wiped out by the Magmas, or so the kid said. At any rate, he wasn't abandoning the Aquas anytime soon. Somewhere in the past, a deep-rooted hatred of Magmas had been planted in his heart.

_That is, if he has a heart_, thought the Aqua Leader to himself.

Laughing at his own joke, he strode down the hall.

**_~blood~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

Alone. Cold. Dark.

Mew2 stood in a cavern far beneath the surface of One Island. This was where he had stayed for years after he had erased the memory of himself from Team Rocket. No one ever ventured here into the depths of Mt. Ember, One Island's dormant volcano.

Moving forms gathered around him in the dim light, growling, whimpering softly. They were his superclones. His brothers and sisters. And for the past few days since the human had unwittingly stumbled upon his lair, they had been restless.

Afraid.

_I will protect you_, he told them. _I won't let them harm you. I will divert them, make them fight one another, make them repent of their sins as I must do of mine._

He watched the Pokemon, their coats and skins laced with unnatural gashes of color. Those stripes along their snouts and backs and wings were an indication of their superclone stature. And that wasn't the only difference between them and their originals; their individual strengths far outweighed that of the Pokemon that had provided the DNA to create them.

_And I was the one who created them, out of my anger and greed. Now, Arceus has sentenced me to change lives. So many, many lives. To manipulate history, to break the flow of time, taxes my strength._

_ But I must do it for my clones._

Slowly, Mew2 sent his consciousness upwards, through the earth and the dead rock, up to where humans walked and lived and breathed the clean air. He envied their freedom and lingered among them, but he couldn't stay for long. He had a task.

And it mattered.


	5. Loneliness

May kneeled beside a wounded Magma grunt, trying to staunch the flow of blood coming from the the girl's leg as she groaned in pain.

"It's all right... just stay still..." May murmured soothingly.

It had been a long day. A small band of Aquas had ambushed May's squad as they worked their way toward the Magma base, and now both parties were on opposite sides of a ditch, shielded by some sparse trees. Already several of the Magmas had gone down, and the medics in her team now worked tirelessly to help the wounded. The midafternoon sun beat down on their heads unrelentlessly, leaving many of the warmly-clad Magmas sweating. For the moment, there was a ceasefire as both sides licked their wounds. Grunts moved back and forth aimlessly, waiting with a tense anticipation for the battle to begin again.

At last May stood, leaving the injured Magma in the care of another medic with a brief smile. She hated the blood, but there was no way to stop it. Magmas and Aquas had warred for generations, shedding more blood and ending more lives, which only led to more hate and more blood. It was a vicious cycle that greedily drew its victims in like Beautiflies in a Spinarak's tangled web. Whole battlefields were still strewn with the bodies of grunts from battles long past. Ho-oh knew how many lives had been taken like that, among them those of her family.

She reached a hand toward the thin chain at her throat, pulling the necklace from beneath her uniform, fingering the blue pendant that hung there. Slowly, she slid it back and forth along the chain, remembering what life had been like before that one Aqua raid, the one that had killed her family. Images rose to her mind like fresh blood: her mother, smiling; her father, confident and tall; her brother, his giant glasses threatening to slip off his little stub of a nose. Her hand pressed against her forehead, blotting out her vision. No more tears for that. She had used them all up already. But she still wondered sometimes what it would have been like to live with her family, what it would have been like if the Aquas hadn't come that night and slaughtered and burned and slain...

She shuddered as she let go of the necklace and leaned against a tree, suddenly faint. A wry smile twitched at her mouth. This was pathetic. She had worked with the Magma medical teams for years already, and yet nausea still racked her body every time, just like a first-timer. _Pathetic_, she thought to herself, and stifled another bout of nausea, feeling the bile rise in her throat.

Why couldn't she have been like her father? Norman had been legendary among the Magmas as a master tactician and fearsome battler. Sure, May had a fairly strong Blaziken, but her skill was nowhere near her father's. _Besides,_ she thought, _I'd be too scared to fight anyways._

_Just like I was too afraid to fight back as they tore my brother from my arms._

Her thoughts were suddenly disrupted as a grunt stumbled upon her, looking slightly embarrassed. His uniform was in disarray, twigs and leaves still stuck in his hair. Obviously a new recruit, reasoned her brain. The rest of her mind eventually caught up as he addressed her. "Senior Medic May...!" the grunt said, out of breath. May blinked as she came out of her reverie. Rarely anyone called her by her rank.

"Yes?" she inquired, somewhat disoriented. Flames still danced, ghostlike, before her eyes.

"Uh, ah, I think we have a situation over there," the grunt said, pointing vaguely into the distance. May only saw more trees but smiled encouragingly at the grunt. New recruits were often like this.

"All right, I'll be there," she promised. "I'll get someone else--"

"Uh... no!"

May cocked her head. "What?"

"It's urgent," said the grunt, stumbling over his words. "We have to hurry. It's... it's urgent."

May mulled it over in her head for a moment, then nodded. "All right," she conceded. "Just wait for me for a second." She turned and, once she had packed her kit, set off at a run with the grunt showing her the way, pushing the foliage aside to make way.

The two of them eventually pushed their way into a small clearing ringed by thick trees. May glanced back toward where they had come from and was dismayed to see that she could no longer sight the small area they had been in earlier. _What if something happens and no one sees?_ whispered her mind. _What if the situation worsens? _Worry suddenly gripped her, and she bit her lip, frowning.

"Hey, this is pretty far," she panted, trying to keep up with the grunt. To her surprise, he didn't answer. "Hey! Grunt! I didn't get your name."

The grunt stopped abruptly. May skidded to a stop behind him, irritated.

"Where are we?" she asked. A look backwards, and now she realized that she wouldn't be able to pick out which direction they had just come from. Irrational panic began to creep up her spine. "Hey. Where are we?" she repeated.

No answer again. The grunt glanced around them, turned to May, and nodded to someone standing behind her.

"W-what are you--"

Her scream was cut off, smothered by the trees, as the world went dark.

**_~blood~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

Trynn eyed the unconscious girl with mild curiosity. It had been easier than he had hoped to capture her. It was like-- what was that idiom? -- like taking a Pokeblock from a Smoochum. And Magmas were supposed to be smart. This one was a bloodline Magma, too. His eyes narrowed as he looked her over.

Overall, it had been simple enough. Once they had received the information on May's whereabouts from an Aqua informant, the Mightyenas had staged an ambush, hurt some Magmas, then retreated momentarily. One of the Mightyenas, posing as a Magma grunt, had lured this May out to an abandoned area and then given the signal to incapacitate her. Now she lay on the ground, knocked out with the aid of chloroform.

_Too easy_, thought Trynn. _Too easy. But even Archie couldn't predict that, I suppose._

The girl was seventeen. According to the papers Archie had given him, she was the daughter of Norman, a Magma who had specialized in Normal-type Pokemon. Apparently her entire family had been killed one night in an Aqua raid ten years ago. Though the main target of the raid had been Norman, his wife and second child had died in the fires of their house as it burned to the ground.

_Ten years._ It had also been ten years since Trynn had first joined Aqua at the age of five, an orphan. One of his earliest memories was the first day of his training as an Aqua grunt, seated in a small room with several other children. All of them had been bloodline Aquas but for Trynn. The others had shunned him, awkward, unsure of what to do with him. Finally one of the children had snickered, muttering a word to one of his classmates.

_"What was that?" asked their instructor, sternly. The children merely giggled and huddled closer. "What did you just say?"_

_"He's a Magma," blurted out one of the kids, one chubby finger pointing accusingly at Trynn. "He joined us to steal our secrets!"_

_"Magma!" chimed in another. "Magma bug!"_

_The others joined the chant, their shouting filling the room until the instructor finally stopped them short. Though all of the other students were reprimanded soundly for their behavior, the damage had been done. For the rest of that year, and the next, and the next, all throughout their training, the children pushed him around, calling names, saying things like "Your mom was a Magma bitch!" and bullied him until their ideas ran dry. It didn't help that he scored highest on all of the written tests, and it didn't help that he was scrawny and obnoxious and had to wear thick glasses. No matter how hard he tried, he was never able to please them._

_Until he was chosen for the Mightyenas._

Yes. This was what he lived for. This was the reason for his existence, the reason he wasn't dead. The Aquas had taken him in, brought him up, taught him about their dream and their vision and their goal. Throughout his life, he had worked to prove that he was not a Magma and that he never would be. _Yes_, he thought. Water sustained life, and it had brought him back to life.

He finally turned his gaze to the Aquas gathered around him. The Mightyenas stood in a circle around the girl, waiting for Trynn's orders. He nodded to one of them, who strode over to him. This one was, in a way, the unofficial co-leader of the Mightyenas. Between he and Trynn there existed a precarious relationship. Sometimes Trynn himself wasn't too sure who was the master and who was the dog.

"Alan," he said to the Mightyena. "Make sure none of you," he always referred to the Mightyenas separately from himself, "harm this girl in any way."

"You sure that's possible-- _sir_?" asked the Mightyena, grinning. "She's pretty cute. Who knows what might happen on the way back, eh?"

Trynn fixed him with a cold glare. Even the Aqua elite could be a crude lot. "Remember, I report directly to Archie. Defying me means defying the Leader, and--"

"--we don't want to get on his bad side. Got it." The man waved his words away. "You don't get too cocky either. Archie's not exactly your best friend."

"I'm touched by your sympathy," said the boy, drily. He signaled for one of the other Mightyenas to pick up the unconscious girl. "Did anyone detect us?"

"None that I've seen," responded Alan, once again businesslike. Around the circle, the other Mightyenas snapped to attention.

"Good." The boy heaved a sigh and pushed his glasses higher up on his nose. "Thank Kyogre."

"Thank Kyogre," murmured the rest of the group in unison.

And then they were gone.

**_~blood~~~_**

Drew stared at the object in his hand.

It was cold. The smooth metal lay cool on his palm, edges gleaming dully, maliciously.

May hadn't returned that night. He had waited in vain for hours after her med team had arrived, watching the darkness and daring it to make him fear. Hours later, he returned to his room to find an Aquacom, lying almost innocently on his cot. Before then he had not allowed the fear to grip him, but now, when the nightmare had become reality, the fear began to invade him once again.

She had been taken. Dear Groudon, she had been taken.

A sudden rage filled him, and he flung the Aquacom against the wall, relishing the sound as it clattered, loud, on the metal floor. "Groudon damn it!" he swore. "_Dammit_. I was so stupid. I always had to have it my way, didn't I? She even told me herself, but I just never thought it would happen. Groudon, I was so stupid and selfish and--" He slammed a fist into the wall. For a long time he simply sat there on his cot, panting, the fear welling up in his throat.

"Groudon. Tch. We always call out to Groudon, don't we? Us 'Magma bugs'. But it's not like Groudon would help us anyways. It's fake. It's all _fake_. No one believes in the legendaries anymore, least of all the Magmas. All we know is revenge. We only fight for revenge on those stupid Aquas and their damned Mightyenas and that insane Archie with his insane dream. They're all religious freaks, that's what they are, because they still believe in their fake Kyogre." His hands clenched into fists until his nails were imprinted onto his palms.

"Stupid Aquas," he said faintly. Slowly, his breathing calmed. "They took May. Dammit. She told me it was dangerous, but I didn't listen."

_Throwing a tantrum won't help her_, said a voice in his head. He welcomed the sanity, cradled it, listened. _Think_, it said. _Why would they want her?_

_To control me,_ he realized. His eyes darted to the Aquacom. _A way to manipulate me. We were seen somehow. Maybe by that Aqua slut Gary captured._

He stood from his cot and walked over to the communicator. Slowly, he picked it up and turned it over and over in his hands. It suddenly struck him how similar it was to a Magmacom; such an innocent-looking device. Should he try it? A shiver ran down his spine as he pressed a button.

It took a moment for the communicator to connect, but soon a voice crackled through. "Admin Drew," it said coldly, the voice garbled intentionally. "I presume you understand your situation."

"What do you want from me?" he asked bluntly.

The connection fizzed. "Your service as an informant. Through this device. Also, if you report this to Magma command, your _girlfriend_ gets a little... roughed up."

Drew stifled his rage. It was a long time before he could speak. "Understood."

"Good." The voice sounded smug. "If you present us with valuable enough information, perhaps we could see about setting your girl free," it continued slyly. "It's your choice. Either give us nothing, and we have a little fun with May--" Drew shuddered here, "--or you cooperate with us and earn her temporary safety."

"Temporary?" he growled back, eyes narrowing.

"You present us with useful info and we don't do anything to her for a week. Our plants in the Magma base will provide you with evidence of her well-being. After that week--" the words were accompanied by a suspicious crackle, then an uncomfortable silence. "Therefore, it would be in her - and your - best interest to continue reporting regularly to us."

Drew stared at the Aquacom, lost in thought. If he reported this to Maxie, the Leader would likely have him locked up and ignored for fear of his betrayal. Once Drew was rendered useless to the Aquas, they would simply dispatch May, because her only usefulness lay in the fact that she gave them an advantage over Drew. If he lost his use, then she lost her life.

Drew's fingers gripped the communicator tightly. Even if Maxie agreed to help rescue May, which was unlikely, the Aquas would kill her before the rescue was even launched. They had breached Magma security many times, and they could do it again.

_No way out_, he thought to himself. He shuddered involuntarily. _My only choice is to comply to their terms._

"I accept. However, why would you need my services if you already have so many informants within Magma?" he asked.

"Admins hear things, particularly things directly from Leader Maxie. It's much easier for an Admin to get a hold on classified information than it is for a grunt. You'd be surprised," said the voice. "Magma security is actually pretty tight around the Leader."

Suspicion still clouded Drew's consciousness, but he ignored it. "So. I will be reporting regularly, once a week."

"We'll test the information you provide, of course. Timing and locations of operations and such, just so we can ambush them. It's not a difficult task to keep your girlfriend alive. However, if you manage to get us something _really_ good, there's a chance we'll let her go."

Hope fluttered somewhere in his chest. "There's no guarantee, though," he said slowly.

"No guarantees, except for the one about keeping her alive and unharmed. She'll be cared for. Of course, those terms are pretty flexible," the voice conceded, "but you're in no position to argue, Admin Drew."

"So true," he murmured, as he broke the connection.

**_~blood~~~~~~~~~~~~_**


	6. Cold

_I'm so tired_, thought Misty Waterflower, Admin of Team Aqua. _So damn tired. I hate this. I hate this so much. I'm so tired_.

She sat in a cell, on the cold floor, blue eyes just barely opened to the flourescent lights. A few feet away, a young man in a Magma uniform sat on a chair, dozing. His dark hair covered some of his face in shadow. It was the same grunt who had managed to capture her and save Gary Oak. For a moment she watched him; then, when she was sure he was asleep, she moved slightly. Experimentally, she tried tugging her hands out from behind her back.

It didn't work. Metal cuffs. If only someone could come and save her.

_It's ridiculous to think that anyone will try saving me_, thought Misty. _My use has been exhausted. I've been an Aqua all my life, I told Archie about that May girl, and now because of my little slipup with Oak I'm useless. One tiny mistake and I'm captured._

_I have failed Archie. And he will throw me away._

The smallest of sighs escaped her lips as she lifted her face to the ceiling. _Tools, that's what we are. That's what all of us Aquas are. Tools to further Archie's dream. I don't even have a reason to be an Aqua, aside from my loathing of Magmas. Nothing to live for either, except for Daisy. My only surviving sister._

_She didn't deserve to be crippled. Violet, Lily, mom and dad… none of them deserved to die._

A flash of images across her mind. Swimming in the pool with her family. Her blonde sister, always the pretty one, smiling and laughing and not crippled. Summers when her sisters would gang up on her and dunk her in the kiddie pool, just for fun, just to make her mad.

Laughter.

_Kyogre, how long has it been since I last laughed?_

To her surprise, the grunt suddenly stirred.

"Awake?" he muttered, rubbing the heels of his hands against his eyes. Misty merely gave him a blank look and looked back at the wall. The grunt cleared his throat, spoke to the air and to the faint humming of the lights. "You've been out for a while. Longer than we expected."

_Chloroform never liked me_, thought Misty dryly.

The grunt watched her for a while. Seeing no response, he started talking again.

"We took your Pokemon, so I don't think you'll ever see them again. They were pretty good, too," he added. "And we took your Aquacom. It's surprising how similar it is to a Magmacom. It's a surprise how similar Team Aqua is to Team Magma. Have you noticed? The biggest difference between us is probably our uniforms." A dry laugh, a breath, a sigh.

"You know, sometimes I wonder what it's like being an Aqua. I really don't think that you're that different from us; you only have different goals. We're both trying to accomplish something, and the way we're organized is similar. Even our communicators are nearly identical. It's crazy, don't you think? You'd think that we'd be working together, not fighting each other. Tch." He shook his head, half-smiling. "What's it called again? It's so ironic.

"Anyways." He sighed again. "About that Admin you almost killed earlier. I think he's interested in you. In the bad way. As in the really, _really_ bad way."

The Aqua's eyes just barely flickered to the Magma outside, but somehow he seemed to notice.

"Yeah, he's interested, all right. Stupid Gary." He kicked an imaginary piece of dust. "He's such a showoff. Always ahead of me just because of his connections." Misty stowed this away in her mind, let the Magma continue. "Really hate his guts sometimes. He thinks he's the best because he's such a 'talented' and 'skilled' and 'experienced' Admin. I'll catch up to him someday, but I _swear_. He's a bitch. I'm going to catch up with him just to get him back for all those times when he abused his power and bossed me around." He drew a hand across his eyes. "_God_. What a bastard. But I'm better than he is, only no one noticed because they were all obsessed with him.

"You know what the problem with him is? He thinks he can get everything, including girls. So you'd better watch for him when he comes around. Of course," he added somewhat grimly, "if he has his mind set on you, you don't have a chance. And it looks like he's pretty interested."

Cold silence fell in again. Misty shivered at the grunt's last words, pondering them. So the Admin might come. But she still wasn't sure if she could trust the information from this grunt. After all, he had saved the Admin from near death.

_An elaborate ruse to make me believe that I'm getting useful info. It'd be just like those Magmas to think of something like this._

On cue the door was flung open, and Gary Oak strode into the room.

"Ketchum," he said coldly to the grunt. "Leave."

"Why? I mean yes. Sir," he added hastily when Oak's eyes narrowed. "Dammit," muttered beneath his breath.

The Admin turned to watch the grunt leave, then seemed to remember something. "Oh. I almost forgot." From his pocket he pulled out a slip of paper. "I have the recommendation. For becoming an Admin," he explained, the hint of a smirk on his face. "Present this to Maxie and he'll send you through the tests. Just remember that you give me what I came here for." His eyes flickered to Misty, then back to the grunt, who took the paper somewhat reluctantly.

_Bribery,_ thought Misty. _Bribing him with the position. Keeping the grunt's mouth shut so that no one will care what he does to me. I hope to Kyogre that I survive this._

The door closed with an ominous thud as the Admin turned to the Aqua.

"Well, Aqua Admin Misty, it seems that we're alone." He gave a glance to the security cam mounted on the wall. "Almost alone, anyways."

She willed herself not to shiver. Block out the images, block out the inevitable pain. _For the sake of Aqua_, she thought, closing her eyes. _For Archie and his dream._

The Magma continued, the frightening smile still curving his mouth. "I think you know what the price is for your freedom. At least, for less pain than we would like to give you. You give us info, we show you mercy." His brown eyes, so dark they were almost black, were cold. "Unfortunately, we don't have that much mercy to spare, so I would advise you to think hard about what you say before you let it slip past those pretty little teeth of yours." His smile widened. Just barely, but it widened. "And I'm not afraid of dealing out the consequences. On the contrary, I rather look forward to them."

_Please, Kyogre_, Misty thought desperately, as the Magma neared. _Please. Keep me from breaking. Don't let him break my spirit. Don't let me tell him anything I shouldn't. I hate him. I hate him and all Magmas. Stupid grunt – Ash Ketchum, was it? – he just had to jump in and save this guy, didn't he—_

**_~blood~~~~~~~~~~~_**

Magma Admin Gary Oak walked into the room with the other Admins, relaxed and smiling. The others nodded at him, gave him their own smiles, their own approval. Maxie simply gave him a long look before turning to speak with Tabitha and Courtney, his two most trusted advisors.

_Also two of the most dangerous people alive,_ concluded Oak.

His attention was riveted, however, to a certain green-haired Admin off to the side, speaking casually with some of the other occupants of the room. Drew, was it? Drew from LaRousse City. The one he had seen in the hallway with his girl. Oak frowned, remembering. He hadn't seen that medic since then, and she had been a fairly high-level one, too. Not to mention cute.

Odd.

It wasn't too long before Maxie called the meeting to order. Immediately the room quieted until silence fell in. One by one, the Admins filed into their seats at a long table. Each glanced curiously at the packet of papers before each of them, then looked back up at Maxie.

Gary noted that Drew seemed too occupied with his own thoughts to notice the packet.

"Admins," Maxie began in an authoritative tone, "I'm sure you've all heard rumors of a new weapon being developed. I'll be blunt. There is a weapon."

There was a ripple of exchanged looks, but the Magma Admins were too well-trained to respond.

"I know that this is difficult to believe, but through luck and investigation, we believe that we may have found the location of the legendary Mew2." Maxie placed a hand on his own copy of the packet. "In these packets I have included records of Mew2's birth and location. I'm sure that you have all heard of this being before, though only rumors. Even Team Rocket itself, the creator of Mew2, is unclear as to the accuracy of their information on it. However, I recently sent several of our most well-trained scouts to the supposed location of Mew2 in order to confirm my suspicions. It turned out that I had been correct."

The expressions on some of his audience's faces changed to looks of dismay, though the look on Drew's face seemed to have an almost insane hope. _Oh, the wonderful theatrics this man has,_ Gary thought dryly. _He's managed to shock his own Admins. And instill hope in one. _Another frown. Drew's behavior was off. _He should be watched._

Maxie continued. "The team I sent barely made it back alive. There _is_ a Mew2, and it is powerful. Powerful enough, perhaps, wipe out the entire organization of Team Aqua on its own."

"Sir."

Everyone's attention shifted to Gary, who immediately felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. _Damn wolves, all fighting each other. All of them in my way._ "If this being is so powerful, how are we supposed to make it obey us, or at least destroy Team Aqua without harming us?" _And the young wolf challenges the old. Let's see how the old one reacts._

The Leader of Team Magma narrowed his eyes. "I have already talked it over with some of our scientists, and together we have a plan to subdue it. It was Admin Oak's grandfather, Samuel Oak--" directed toward Gary, their eyes locking, "--who devised the basis of the operation." _Even your grandfather's life is in my hands, mangy mutt,_ Maxie's eyes seemed to say. _Back down. I'm the leader here for many years yet._

_That's what you think,_ thought Gary to himself, hiding a smile.

The rest of the meeting proceeded without incident, and yet there remained a tension that was not relieved even when the meeting ended with a unanimous vote to make an attempt to capture Mew2. Gary had to suppress several shivers brought on by Maxie's near-emotionless glares shot his way. As the Admins filed out the door, Gary cast a glance at Admin Drew, still seemingly preoccupied with his own thoughts.

"Hey, Drew," Oak said, nudging the other Admin. "Some interesting news Maxie's given us, eh? I bet it'd be pretty damn valuable to the Aquas if they ever got their filthy hands on it."

"Yes, it probably would be," Drew replied absently. Then he seemed to remember himself and his eyes lost their dim look. "Those damn Aquas. They should all go to _hell_," he added with vehemence.

"So true," laughed the auburn-haired Admin, and he strode off, still chuckling to himself.

_That Drew,_ Gary thought, _will be dead._

_**~blood~~~~**  
_

_Fire. Pure, blinding fire._

_There was a flash of dark red, the black emblem of Magma, and a body vanished into night. Dimly he could heard screams in the distance as more died, as more bodies were thrown to the ground in the slaughter._

_Someone clutched him, crying, to her chest, crying out to someone he couldn't see. Tears trickled onto his face – her tears, he realized. A shudder racked him as he tried to move closer, tried to find comfort and safety in her trembling embrace. The only part he could see of her was her necklace: a single blue stone, sparkling eerily in the flickering, blazing orange light like the blue eyes he knew she had._

_Then the jagged symbol of the Magmas again, and the girl was gone._

Trynn wrenched himself out of bed, gasping, holding his head while he groped in the dark for the glasses on his desk. _What a fantastical dream, _he thought. _It was so vivid_. Fire still blazed in his mind, behind his eyes. Perhaps it was a memory. Yes, a memory of how his family had died at the hands of Magmas. That blue-eyed girl might have been a relative – his sister? Who knew? Likely as not, his entire family was dead already. It would be futile to try searching for them.

Yes, he had tried before. He had tried so many times before he finally realized that it was useless, before his naiveté finally wore off years after he had joined Aqua.

Perhaps he had had the dream before. Perhaps, unnervingly, that was why that blue-stone necklace still sparkled, ghostlike, in his mind.

He shook his head as he settled his thick glasses onto his nose. It was odd, because the dream had been so real. It was also odd because his head felt fuzzy, as if somebody had been messing with his thoughts. Maybe someone had been. Maybe someone had given him that dream. But that was impossible, wasn't it? Those walls – he looked at the walls of his room – those walls had been specially built to block out the minds of Psychic and Ghost Pokemon. There was no known Pokemon that had that kind of power to be able to penetrate those walls, aside from legendaries. Of course, a legendary wouldn't try to mess with his head, would it? So that was out of the question.

_Perhaps_, he relented, _it was a real dream after all. Perhaps it was simply something conjured out of my head._

**_~blood~~_**

_They must die,_ thought Mew2. His brow just barely furrowed as he encountered resistance. _This one's mind is strong. I was right to use him. If I only delve a little deeper into his memories... just one more nightmare, one more dream._

His chest rose and fell, rose and fell in the darkness as the clones watched him for a sign. They were used to this now. They were used to their leader - their master - leaving them for short stretches of time as he sent his consciousness up to the surface, searching for something. They no longer milled about, afraid, when they felt his presence leave them.

_His name is Trynn. Silly Magma. He thinks he's an Aqua. He doesn't know that those ties bind him by blood._

A cold smile. The Pokemon around him pressed closer, wary, unsure.

_He will kill. Yes, before I am released, he will kill._

**_~blood~~~~~_**

* * *

A/N: I usually have a thing against writing author's notes, but I'd just like to thank whichever one of my reviewers it is who called themself "Anonymous" when they reviewed Chapter 5. Here goes.

YES! EXACTLY! THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED SOMEONE TO TELL ME! My head is now the size of a watermelon with your praise. Or it's the size of Gary's ego. And yes, I caught the Tabitha mistake and fixed it by changing it to Courtney (easy fix =^ ^=) and I'm glad that someone actually caught it aside from myself. It's nice to know that I have intelligent reviewers. Or at least one.

Can you believe that I only noticed that Tabitha is a guy when I played Pokemon Emerald during Spring Break? I was just above the Jagged Pass during that scene where you have to battle Tabitha and Maxie in order to get the Meteorite, and when I went up against Tabitha I just sort of had an "oh, shit" moment. Later I even looked up "Tabitha" online, and it was listed as an_ all-girl name_. That really makes me wonder what those game designers were thinking when they chose that name. It really makes me wonder. Hah. Maybe he's gay. All the hot guys turn out gay, anyways... like Drew. XD I think I'm going to draw Tabitha. Yes. That would be awesome. Right after I finish that drawing of Drew backing May to the wall... just like he does so many times in my fantasies.

I'm dedicating this entire chapter just to Anonymous for your wonderful review (no chatspeak XD). So again, thank you Anonymous! I will love you forever for showering me with praise! XD


	7. Indecision

_Again he was in the midst of fire, but this time all he could see was darkness. Someone pulled him along, their iron grip on his arm - such a small arm, he thought - and he stumbled and scraped his knees, but they simply kept going and going, moving further and further away from the flames and the heat and the death and the life. He tried to pull back, but they yanked him forward roughly, making him fall. In that same moment a sound reached his ears, carrying with it a near-dead hope.  
_

_"Max!" a voice cried from behind him. "Don't take him away, you bastards! Stop! Stop--"_

_He felt himself stumble again as the person dragging him struck a hand out into the fire, where the voice had come from. The words stopped, replaced by sobbing._

_A piercing fear and he suddenly wrenched away from the rough hand and staggered toward the voice, somehow knowing that he would be safe, someone would take him into her arms and hold him where he would be safe and warm; he'd have the blue necklace, the blue stone - but the rough hand came back again, gloved, the dark fabric tight on his arm as he screamed, screamed, his own voice running with blood and hate and pain--  
_

Trynn woke in cold sweat, heart pounding. His memory flashed back to the Magma girl. When they had searched her, Alan had found a blue necklace at her throat. A blue stone. Blue as her eyes.

Almost subconsciously he clutched a hand at his chest. So his suspicions were real. That earlier dream was real.

_I am a Magma. Max. The son of Norman and Catherine. The son of the gym leader of Petalburg. The brother of that girl.  
_

A shudder. But could he trust his mind? A mind played tricks. It was dangerous to believe in fantasies, even if they were from one's own mind.

_They're real. I've always suspected it. I've always been afraid. And it's real._

He groped for the glasses on his desk and settled them onto his nose, feeling his heartbeat slow once again. Thoughts flooded back into his head. So he was of Magma blood. So what? That May-girl was his sister. So what? Just because of this new-found revelation, just because he knew this in his mind didn't mean that he could simply walk away from his life. And yes, Team Aqua was his life and his power. If he simply left, he would be nothing. Outside of Aqua there was nothing for him, and he would be nothing to anyone else. Where would he find another life in a battle-torn Hoenn? Even in Kanto and Johto there swarmed Rockets by the hundreds, no matter how weak they were.

No, he couldn't abandon Team Aqua. He couldn't give up this position. He had spent his entire life simply working toward this goal, making his way ever closer to the top of the organization. It had taken him ten years to prove himself to those bullies, those jeering faces that he _was_ an Aqua, he _was_ one to be trusted and relied upon. At last Archie had seen his talent - his genius - and had placed him at the head of the most powerful force in all of Team Aqua. The honor was not one to be taken lightly nor thrown away without a thought.

_And to think I was considering doing that mere moments ago._

No. He would stay loyal. He would continue. And perhaps if he had the chance, he would guarantee that May-girl her freedom.

_**~blood~~~**_

A brown-haired, blue-eyed girl awoke.

May kept her eyes shut, of course, because who knew who was watching you and wanted you to wake up? So she tried to stay still and not show that she was awake in any way, but somehow even staying still betrayed her.

"Your name is May, correct?"

She didn't open her eyes. It felt like she was sitting on a chair and had been tied to it. Her ankles were tied together as well, and she was blindfolded.

"According to our sources, it is. If you were wondering, you have been captured by Aquas. Of course, who else would?"

She wondered if she was supposed to laugh.

"Frankly, we don't have much of a use for you. Your level of authority isn't much higher than that of the average grunt's."

_Then why am I here? Why are you questioning me?_

And the horrible, obvious answer flashed through her mind.

_Drew._

"I suppose you must have figured it out by now, from the look on your face. Yes, you are correct. That's the reason we have you here. And I'm also curious about another thing." The voice paused, and it struck May how young the voice sounded, and how it had suddenly become very hesitant. "Where did you get that necklace?"

What kind of a question was this? Likely when they searched her they had found the necklace, but it didn't have any relevance, did it? Or maybe the interrogator was trying to see if Drew had given it to her. Maybe they would use it as evidence that they had her. But Drew wouldn't need evidence; he knew that she was gone. Didn't he?

"Where did you get it?" the voice asked again, firmly.

Against her will, memories began to rise to her mind. Her father had given it to her some time before the raid when her family was killed. Probably a birthday present of some kind, but she didn't remember any more. All she remembered - what she mostly remembered about it - was that it was a very sentimental gift. Maybe a family heirloom. Maybe it was special simply because it had seemed so perfect and beautiful when she had first received it.

Then it finally came. But of course. _Max loved it._

Even when he had been only three and May five, the two of them would simply play around with the necklace for hours before they finally tired of watching the light dance around in the depths of the blue stone. Sometimes, when they were waiting for their parents to finish talking to other adults, May would pull out the necklace and simply turn, turn, turn it around and around, to get them lost in that hypnotizing blue. Sometimes Max would fight for the right to play with it himself.

"If you won't answer, you would do well to remember that we have methods of getting you to talk."

"My father." Her voice was high and thin and dry. May swallowed nervously. Would this have consequences? Would she regret this later? She couldn't see how it would - couldn't see what danger it might bring. "My dad gave it to me before I was five."

"Your father was Norman, former Magma and gym leader of Petalburg." It wasn't a question. "He was a specialist in Normal-type Pokemon. Used Vigoroth quite often, I believe. A fairly strong Magma. We had him assassinated." Cold fear - was it fear or sheer terror? - seemed to paralyze her. "And yes, we can have you killed as well. Obvious enough, I suppose, considering your position." There was a dry, bleak laugh. "I still can't believe that a Magma, let alone the child of a high-ranking Magma, would be so _stupid_ as to be fooled by the cheap trick we used on you. You simply walked right into our midst without even considering the fact that it might be a trap. And Magmas are supposed to be _intelligent_."

More laughter, more heartless laughter that cut into her pride. He was trying to wear her down emotionally, she reasoned. Of course, who knew what Aquas really meant to do? They were all insane and heartless and cruel. They had killed her family. They had reduced the Magmas to a sniveling - yes, sniveling - state, afraid to even hope to regain their former power.

"You had a brother, didn't you? A younger brother." The voice had resumed again, beyond the blindfold. "Three years younger. I think his name was Max."

"And you killed him," she said trembling.

The voice turned to one of contempt. "He was the son of a dangerous Magma and therefore a potential threat. We cut down the threats before they have a chance to take root. Fortunately you were spared due to your apparent lack of talent, and now we have a chance to use you. Lucky us, eh?"

This time there was no laughter.

"Max. He loved that necklace, didn't he. So perfect and beautiful - like water. The stone is cubic zirconia, you know. Looks like diamond, but not exactly the same. An imitation." The voice on the other side of the blindfold paused, trailed off. "You know," he resumed, "cubic zirconia is synthetic, so it has virtually no flaws compared with natural diamonds. Natural diamonds, however, are harder than cubic zirconia. Just goes to show that imitations can't compare to reality. Fantasy may seem so perfect, yet it fades beside the harshness of real life. In reality, the imperfection of our world is what makes it so beautiful."

She was afraid - she knew she was afraid, she was trembling - but somehow she managed to ask, "Why are you talking to me?"

"I'm supposed to."

"But--" hesitation, "--small talk. Chatting. Why?"

"Why?" The sound of shifting as he moved. "It's a psychological thing. I play nice so that I can take you off guard later on. It's that simple. Or I simply befriend you and make you think that you can trust me with everything you say, and then I go and report what you tell me to Archie. Take your pick. I advise telling me everything from the start."

May took a deep breath, then blew it out again slowly. "Everything?" she said. "But I don't know anything. At least, not anything that would be of use to you." There was hope, a faint hope.

A pause. When the voice finally spoke, it was softer. "Start with your family."

_**~blood~**_

Mew2's eyes opened in the darkness. _He has realized the truth. With this truth, he will do more than hurt. His will is strong - perhaps dangerously so, but I must use him. Now for the other._

He sent his consciousness out again, past the miles and the dead layers of rock and the creeping things and the Pokemon. In his mind's eye, the lives of every living creature burned like flames - only they didn't really; there was no visual equivalent to what he could sense.

He paused at the edge of the Magma base, then moved inwards, slowing when he found the one he needed.

_This one is broken_, he thought to himself, watching the light slowly dim. _Good. Loss can sometimes be motivation enough for my purposes._

A deep breath, and he delved into the human's mind.

_**~blood~~**_

May, May, May, _May._ He couldn't stop thinking about her.

It had begun that morning, when he first awoke. His first thought had been: _I can't tell the Aquas about Mew2._

His second thought had been: _I'll do it for May._

They had said - whoever it had been - they had said that they might send her back if he did well enough. They had said that there was no guarantee. Likely as not, they would simply keep her imprisoned and laugh at him, scorn him when he told them. But of course he would still try, because all he wanted was--

_May, May, May._

Every little smile and touch and kiss and word, it just all came rushing back with that morning. He didn't know why, but he simply wanted--

_May, May, May._

It was almost painful, the way he couldn't stop thinking about her. And the Mew2 thing. _That_. That ill-formed, idiotic plan. Of course the other Admins would follow Maxie; they were too caught up in their dreams of revenge and blood and hate and _kill_--

_May._

He remembered so clearly and painfully the way she would smile at him and take his hand like a little child.

_May_.

He had to tell the Aquas.

_Everything thrown away for May._

Yes, this could start a war.

He paused, realizing that he had the Aquacom in his hands, realizing that he was a small, tiny step closer to chaos and death and destruction and blood. May hated blood, he remembered, and for a brief moment sanity gripped him.

_Don't, you idiot-- you'll cause a war, they'll all die--_

But I want May, he told himself in a small, ashamed voice.

_She'll hate the blood. You know how much she hates it. Goddammit, stop! Stop!_

And then he didn't know who or why or how, but suddenly the voice of his insanity rose, growing and growing until it dwarfed him, it couldn't be himself anymore--

You will tell the Aquas. You will tell, and you will have May. You will save her.

_Dammit, don't listen--_

You will tell the Aquas.

_Stop--_

And he was pressing the button so hard he thought it might break but it didn't and all of a sudden he found himself speaking, nearly shouting into the communicator, relaying every piece of information he had, telling every little detail of the meeting and he was so afraid, he was just so afraid--

Once, his treacherous throat closed up but somehow he began talking again, not stopping even for breath, not stopping even to see if the person on the other side of the Aquacom was listening, not stopping because he was doing it all for May, all for _her_--

_**~blood~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**_

"What did he do to you?" was the grunt's first question.

Misty gave him a glance out of the corner of her eye. It didn't have the same irritated quality as before; now it had been reduced to a dull blankness. It was difficult for even her to believe that she was more tired than before.

"He." She paused. "Had his way with me."

"Oh."

And it simply hung there, awkward and untouchable and oppressive.

"Do you hate him for it?"

He said it hesitantly. It would have taken too much energy to ask him why he was asking her, so she said, "No."

"Why not?"

Closed her eyes. "It's expected. Corrupt officials. Corrupt Admins. All the same."

_Kyogre_, she thought. _I've been beaten so badly I've even developed a defeatist attitude._

"When I become an Admin," the grunt was saying, "I'm not going to be like that."

"You mean if."

He cocked his head. "What?"

"If you become one."

"Of course I will," he said somewhat indignantly. "I've got the battling skills, and I've studied for years. What else do they need from me?"

"Kill," she said breathlessly.

The grunt looked taken aback for a second.

"You need to kill. They'll bring out some prisoner, and they'll make you kill them."

_Oh Kyogre, he's so naive,_ she thought, watching his face contort with disgust. _Not one of these. They're so sickening. And then they break once you try to get them to kill._

Silence again, but this time it was a kind of understanding silence because they both knew.

"You haven't killed before, have you?"

The grunt looked like he was about to speak, then shut his mouth.

"Thought so," she murmured. "Weak."

"I am not!" he retorted, face flushing. Misty merely gave him a shrug and looked away. The grunt seemed to steam in silence for a while, but he gave up and instead focused his attention on the wall. "I'm not weak. I'm not. I've beaten almost every single trainer in this base, and I could beat up those Aquas if I needed to. I could hurt you," he said pointedly, shooting her a glare. "I could."

"Then do it."

There. That was it. No resistance. The grunt gaped at her.

"What?" he said, after he had regained his voice.

"You say you can hurt me." Fire burned in her eyes again, and she tensed. "Then go ahead. Prove that you're not weak. Hit me, beat me, even do to me what Oak did. You can't, can you?"

She didn't really know why she was doing this. He was just a grunt, after all, and it was likely that he actually would do as she was telling him. In any case, she wasn't getting anything out of it, and she never would.

_No,_ she thought. _I want him to hurt me. I want him to punish me, roar words in my ears about what incompetent filth I am to fall into Magma hands--_

And then she realized that what she wanted was for Archie to hurt her.

She looked into the grunt's eyes, silent, challenging, daring him to even make a single movement. He was watching her, eyes indecisive and flickering, unsure. The only sound was that of the flourescent light humming above their heads.

"You can't," she stated simply.

There was a bitter look on his face, one of hurt and confusion and anger, but the anger wasn't directed at her. Oh, he was so innocent, so untouched even though he was in the midst of a war. Misty pitied him. Somewhere in the deepest, darkest parts of her heart - if she had one - she pitied him and his innocence. Well, not really his innocence. But his naivete.

"Ash Ketchum?"

His eyes widened. "You know my name."

"Oak said it before. I have ears." She looked away and nearly sighed. Nearly. Then she continued. "You do know that the test for new Admins includes killing a prisoner?"

"You're thinking that it'll be you."

Surprise. "You're not so naive after all, are you?"

He chose not to answer.

"Yes, I think it'll be me."

And she didn't know what else to say, only left the statement hanging in the air. There wasn't much to say anyways.

* * *

A/N: A few things that I would like to say to my readers.

**One**. Yes, Trynn is Max. It's so blatantly obvious, and not just in this chapter. No, you don't get a medal. Any self-respecting fan of Hoenn would have spotted it.

**Two**. I spell Mew2 as "Mew2" instead of "Mewtwo" _intentionally_. I've been a fan of Pokemon since the Kanto region, and I've read that Official Pokemon Guidebook (you know, the really old one with a purple-pink shiny cover) a million times. Don't think I don't know how to spell Mewtwo. Spelling it differently makes it look cool. XD

**Three**. This isn't a lovey-dovey, mushy gunk story. This is a story where some people get killed. (Which is kind of fun to plan but not fun to actually write.) I'm not going to be adding scenes where Drew saves May just because it's romantic, and I'm not going to be adding scenes that my reviewers suggest unless they actually contribute to the plot. I've already laid out the plot up to Chapter Eleven and have notes for later additions. The Drew-May thing is basically just to get the story going. More focus will be on Trynn and May's past and on Gary's corruption and that kind of stuff. The main point of this story is to _not_ be mushy and wonderful, because I want to do this kind of story just to use up my emoness and to get a message across, if possible. Eh. Probably just to vent my emoness. And to prove that I can write something other than romance fics.

**Four**. I know that Drew is not gay. If he was, I wouldn't be writing stories where he's half-dragging May into bed. Oh, yes, I write those kinds of stories. Shocked, my readers? Go read them.  
Anyways. When I was writing the author's note for last chapter, I was high on energy and really happy and whatnot. Now I'm not because I just read a few reviews that (kind of) pissed me off, and also because my teeth feel weird because I just came from the dentist's. Mostly the reviews, though.

**Five**. Gary didn't rape Misty. Yet. He just had some fun with her. And don't think for a second that he wouldn't rape her, because in the world of "Poison, Salt and Stone", he's that kind of person. So I'll just leave you readers wondering whether or not he'll do something to her. Because that would be fun to write.

No it wouldn't.


	8. Innocence

It was just as she had feared.

Ash had been tested both mentally and physically, each successive test more difficult than the last. It had been hours since his last break, let alone meal, and yet at the moment the last spark of spirit within him blazed with an intensity that was nearly tangible.

"Pikachu," he said to the yellow rodent by his side. Sweat coated both of them from their exertions. He and the Pokemon were the only ones in the room, a small, bare cell with walls of plaster. A few minutes earlier an Admin had tested him, passed him, and informed him that his last test would be taking place in ten minutes. "Pikachu," he said again, "if we finish this last test, I'm an Admin."

"Pi, pikachu," the Electric-type said encouragingly.

Ash nodded. "Yeah. I wonder what the last test will be."

And then it hit him. Memories from the day before flooded into his mind, and he stiffened. The electric mouse seemed to notice.

"Pika-pi?"

"I have to kill someone."

"Pika?"

Ash looked at the Pokemon. "I mean, the last test is for me to kill someone. A prisoner. An Aqua."

"Pika-pi pikachu pika pikachu-pi?"

"Yeah, the girl - Misty. She said it might be her."

"Pikachu-pi?"

"Misty... Waterflower, I think. They're not sure; she's a top Aqua Admin, after all. It's hard to get info on them."

"Pika."

"Well--" Ash stood abruptly. "I don't want to have to kill anyone. I always knew I'd have to, sooner or later, because this is a war, right? Kind of. I mean, we're expected to kill, but I never thought I'd have to. Now..." he looked at his hands, greasy with sweat and some blood - the tests had been intense - and swallowed. "I didn't think it would come this way."

"Pi," Pikachu said a little sadly.

"I know. I just... don't really know."

"Ash Ketchum!" The door was flung open, and Leader Maxie strode into the room, Admins Tabitha and Courtney flanking him. Ash jumped to attention. "Your final test, Ketchum. Follow me." Maxie turned back to the door without ever stopping his movement, as if he wished this to be over as soon as possible. Perhaps he did.

Ash was led into another room, this time larger and yet still empty, save for the figure hunched in the middle of the floor. He avoided looking at it, instead focusing his eyes on Maxie.

"Your final test is to kill this prisoner, the one you were appointed to guard for the last week. You have ten minutes. Go."

It was just as she had feared.

Ash had no time to wonder how the Leader was able to say it so effortlessly, as if it was merely a game, merely a small blot of blood on the vast expanse of ground. He marveled at the fact that Maxie said it so emotionlessly, as if he didn't really care. Perhaps he didn't.

He walked up to Misty, and she raised her azure eyes to his. The room had gone eerily still.

"I told you," she said.

"I know."

He took a deep breath, drew out a knife from his belt. He remembered the feeling of drawing blood, the feeling of slicing into flesh--

"I'm supposed to kill you," he told her.

"Isn't that just delightful."

"Yes it is."

A pause.

"No it isn't," he amended.

"You have nine minutes left," Misty said.

"More than nine minutes; one minute hasn't passed yet." He moved his hand, slightly. The hand with the knife. Her eyes flickered for a moment to the blade, then back to him.

"Are you going to kill me or not?"

Somewhere in the back of his head Ash knew that Maxie and Tabitha and Courtney and Pikachu were watching this scene with fascination, but he shoved the thought away. "Yes."

Misty waited.

Ash swallowed.

"Weak."

"I am not!" he said indignantly, and stepped closer, holding the knife menacingly. She flinched.

"Innocent and naive and weak. And idiotic."

"Dammit, Misty. Just... just shut up, will you? It's like you _want_ to get killed!"

The girl looked away, almost as if she was ashamed - but she wouldn't be, she was an Aqua and Aquas were strong and merciless and heartless. And then he realized that he had thought of her as a girl. And that she _was_ a girl, barely any older than he was.

"Pi-pikachu," Pikachu said quietly. Ash whipped around to find the Admins and the Leader watching him coldly, and he turned back to Misty.

"Look," he said, trembling, "I'm supposed to kill you."

"Yes." The look of resignation in her eyes shook him more than the glare of Maxie boring into his back.

"_Dammit!_"

He threw down the knife, hardly knowing what he was doing as he ran out of the room, unable to look up, Pikachu on his heels. He didn't stop running until he had reached the other end of the Magma base, dodging grunts and Admins left and right. The tears wouldn't come. The pain was there, the shame, but the tears simply weren't.

_Stupid pain and stupid Admins and stupid Maxie,_ he thought, but it was no use. No use at all.

_**~blood~~~~~**_

"That Gary kid is amazing," Admin Courtney remarked, leaning back into a chair, eyes scanning through pages upon pages of words. "Did you see the way his Pokemon responded?"

Tabitha looked up from a few papers. Of course, he hadn't really been reading them - his eyes had been wandering over his companion, who sat the other end of the desk, sifting through reports. "We'd better watch out for him, that's what I say."

The other Admin nodded her agreement. "He's definitely the kind to stick a knife through your ribs in a dark alley."

"Backstabber," Tabitha supplied.

"Maxie should watch out, too."

"Yeah." The six-foot, broad-shouldered Admin shuffled and placed the papers on the desk again, letting his eyes settle on Courtney's body. "I bet you anything he'll be the next Leader."

"And not you?" She raised an eyebrow, movements pausing for a second.

"Oh, I don't know. I might try pulling a stunt like that, but the truth is that it's too dangerous. Have you seen all those assassins people have sent after him? And not just Aquas; I'm talking about jealousy and revenge."

"What, have you done something like that?"

"Oh, _no_, I'd _never_ do anything like _that_," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Well, to be honest, no. Granted, I've thought about doing it before, but I realized that it's just not worth it. The man's a fricking immortal. Not exactly, but he's good enough to live until he's at least sixty."

"So true. I'd hate to be in his position, though."

"Oh, he loves it." Tabitha laughed. "He loves to tease them. There's always at least one every year. Once we had three bodies to take care of."

A spark of interest flickered in her eyes. "You've been with him a long time, haven't you?"

"Fifteen years, I think. Yeah. You know, I joined just after Norman got killed - him and his family."

"Except for that May girl," Courtney interrupted. "I think she had a brother. Never found his body, though."

"Yeah." Tabitha stood and stretched a little, moving his stiff neck from side to side. He gave Courtney a glance, a scan from head to toe. "You think the Aquas took him?"

"Likely. It's just like Archie to do something like that. He's a twisted man."

_Arceus_, she was avoiding looking at him. So obvious that she knew he wanted her. Of course, she'd simply keep on going with her small talk - or what passed for small talk in the Magma base.

"You know, that Ash kid really has potential," he remarked, moving behind her slowly. She gave no sign of noticing his movements.

Courtney gave an almost imperceptible nod. "I almost feel sorry for him. His battling style is solid, and both he and his Pokemon are really high-level. Even just his Pikachu's Thundershock amazed me," she said blandly, still looking through the papers on the desk. Tabitha noted with some interest that she picked up some papers that she had reviewed before.

"Really?"

A slow, lazy smile curved his mouth as he came closer to her, footsteps clear in the quiet room. He sensed her go rigid as one hand reached out and took her shoulder.

"Tabitha," he heard her say, "what do you think you're doing?"

He let the hand run down her arm, down to where her bare skin began. "I don't know; I just thought you might want to have a little fun."

"I hesitate to ask what your idea of 'fun' is," she said icily.

"I'll give you a hint. It involves the two of us. _Alone_."

Now his other hand came down, and as he sent it along her waist, rubbing slowly, he felt her stiffen.

"Now, Courtney," he said soothingly, "we've known each other for a while. What do you say...?"

_**~blood~~~**_

Groudon damn it, those Aquas were getting stronger.

Maxie pounded a fist on the tree he was leaning on, the battle still raging around him. Pokemon and their trainers ran past, their minds set on death. Roars, screeches pounded his ears, each Magma cry a stab to his gut, because it meant he was losing.

Groudon damn it. Right when he had the chance - the power - to make his own move, Archie had closed in again. It was as if the arrogant bastard had read his mind.

No matter. The Magma Leader took a deep breath of the air, the sweet, blood-ridden air. He was close enough. No matter how many people he killed, no matter how many of his own died, if he managed that one last stretch he would finally have his sweet revenge. Not to mention all of Hoenn in the bargain. He gave himself a smile. It was a cold smile - the smile of a remorseless killer.

"All squads forward!"

The chaos increased. Even from a distance away, he could see the dismayed eyes of the Aquas as they were cut down. Spotting a hole in the ranks, he ordered his Pokemon to fill the gap, then watched as his Admins killed more. For a brief second he remembered that Ash Ketchum child, unable to obey orders, unable to kill.

"Staining the purity of innocent children... hah. Like I care."

And then he raced forward to join the chaos.

_**~blood~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**_

She couldn't remember; she just couldn't remember.

May racked her brains, waiting for even the slightest hint that she was remembering, because that Aqua interrogator had sounded so damn familiar. Well, not exactly, but there was something that she had recognized in their - his - tone. If she was lucky, her connection to them could possibly gain her her freedom. After all, it was a small world. Who knew what kind of people might help her? Of course, she didn't know what kind of people might hurt her, as well.

He had sounded gentle, she remembered. That was it - the same kind of gentleness she had once used with her Skitty when she had first found it, half-dead, half-buried at the bottom of a ditch. The same kind of gentleness she had seen someone use before, some time before her family had been killed. The same... kind of... gentleness... that her father had used.

But he was dead. And his voice was deeper, more matured than this high-pitched, adolescent, childish--

_**~blood~**_

The preparations were complete. Everything was perfectly, painstakingly set up, ready to be triggered with the slightest push. Of course, some parts were already in motion.

Mew2 let his mind scan over that of Gary Oak, Magma Admin and grandson of one of the most renowned of Pokemon Professors in the world. The boy was determined to defeat Maxie and take control of Team Magma - for what reason, Mew2 could not discern without alerting Oak to his presence. It was buried too deep in his mind. The thing chafed at Mew2, but he let it be. After all, there were always bound to be uncontrollable variables in the equation, and sometimes they turned out to be beneficial.

And that Ash Ketchum. A smile twitched at Mew2's mouth. These were just so predictable, though once in a while they would surprise him. One of those innocent, naive, hotheaded children who had big dreams and big ambitions.

Pathetic.

_**~blood~**_


	9. Madness

_There will be blood. There will be death. There will be shame and cruelty and weakness. The humans will suffer at each other's hands, all for me--_

_All for nothing. For a mere wisp of a dream. For a glimpse of power. For a glimpse of insanity.  
_

_It is their punishment._

_**~blood~**_

Misty's eyes snapped open in the darkness. Cold sweat ran down her face as she shivered. A thought flashed through her mind. What was she afraid of?

Something moved off to her right, and she spun around, straining her eyes to see.

"Misty?" A light shone into her eyes, momentarily blinding her. "It's just me."

"Oh. The grunt." A sigh escaped her, and she settled back down, trying to calm her pounding heart. "Or maybe you're not a grunt anymore."

He sighed. "No. I'm still here. Still lower-ranked. Still--"

"--weak."

She saw him struggle for a moment, then he sighed. "Yeah. You don't need to rub it in."

"How can you be a part of Team Magma and never kill anyone in cold blood?" she asked, irritated.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I always avoided killing them. I'd just wound them enough so that they couldn't come after me again. It was easy once I got strong enough."

Misty nearly laughed. "You _idiot_. It was to test your loyalty, you know. They knew. They knew about your little habit."

"Arceus damn those bastards. They monitor everything." He spat on the ground.

"Magmas are paranoid," she agreed. Sensing his mood, she added, "Mostly just Maxie, though."

There was a silence as Ash nodded. Something seemed to strike him, because in the dim light she saw him turn toward her. "Hey. Were you scared by something earlier?" he said tentatively.

"What'd make you think that?"

"I could hear you. All of a sudden you just went still, like you'd frozen."

Misty sighed. Damn overly perceptive boys. "Yes. I had a nightmare or something. I don't remember any of it, though. Just... just the fear."

_**~blood~**_

Trynn shot up, pushing his covers aside, trying to quell the panic that rolled over him in waves.

_Something's dangerous and it's coming and - Kyogredammit,_ he thought, as he looked around the dark room and saw nothing._ I must've had a nightmare._

He flopped back onto the cot, listening as his breathing slowed once again. He didn't have nightmares for nothing. The last time he had had one, it had seemed to be irrelevant, but ignoring it had cost him dearly. No, he had to make sure he didn't make that mistake again.

_Two nightmares in a week. First my sister, then this. _His hands clenched into fists, tightening on the covers. _Something's happening _right now. _Dammit. If I just knew what it was._

**_~blood~_**

She was trying to sleep, but it wasn't working.

May sighed. She waited. And then she sighed again, this time more softly. There was a light above her, illuminating her as she lay there, her wrists bound together. She wasn't very sure how long it had been since she had been questioned. Maybe a day or so, she reasoned. A day since that person had questioned her.

It had been more of a talk, really. A simple chat. The two of them weren't friends, but there had been no air of hostility or anger or dark intention. She tried to recall their voice. Bland. Overly polite. Attentive, though.

_And they had sounded young. Maybe fifteen or so._

It struck her how perfect it seemed, that the moment she finished that thought another rose to take its place: _That's how old Max would be if he was still alive._

But the truth - the bare, brutal truth - was that he wasn't. She had seen him being dragged off by Aquas, taken like so many others had been, had had who-knows-what done to him before he was killed like so many others.

_I lost him and Mom and Dad that day_, she thought to herself. _It seemed like no one would ever want me again. I had to become strong by myself, fend for myself among the lower ranks, learn not to get in others' way and eventually learn how to be useful._ She felt tears well up in her eyes, but they didn't fall. _And when I met Drew, it seemed like a dream._

A sudden memory jolted her, of a day when she had come back to the base with her hand injured, and when Drew had seen her - waiting, as he always did, just inside the entrance - the look on his face had been too painful to bear.

_Drew,_ she thought silently, as if trying to send the thought to him. _Drew. Don't cry. I'm fine--_ and yet more tears came,_ I really am._

**_~blood~_**

There was no way out of it. There was no way that he could justify it to himself except that _he wanted her back._

Of course, it had seemed like a perfectly sane decision at the time. He wasn't really sure how it had happened, but - Groudon dammit - he had told the Aquas about that Mew2 thing. They had said that they might give her back if he did well enough, but what kind of a fool _listened_ to those kinds of promises?

_A deluded fool,_ he thought. _An idiot. Only an idiot would listen to illusionary promises like that._

And yet he still clung to that fragile hope that she would somehow stand before him once again, whole and beautiful and as adorable as she had ever been, leaning her head on his shoulder, her eyes such a deep blue that he would all but drown in them when he looked at her.

_Delusions,_ he thought again. _Delusions,_ when he recalled that image of May. _Delusions and nothing but._

Around him, the room was all dark. He was alone. His eyes flickered mometarily to the notch in the upper corner where - for grunts - there would be mounted a camera to monitor their every private move. For him, however, they hadn't. He was an Admin, after all. It was so easy once he had become an Admin - so easy to escape detection, break rules - that it had seemed he could do anything and not reap the consequences. He had been too reckless.

And now he hated himself for losing her.

_**~blood~**_

Shelly jolted up and looked around, as if she had sensed someone - or something - in the room. "Matt?" she said. No answer. "Crawdaunt?"

Not a sound.

She shivered. It wasn't really cold for the Aqua base, but she had suddenly had the feeling - real or imagined - that someone was watching her. It had been a penetrating gaze, she was sure, and the feeling it gave her was one of terror, like prey beneath a predator's gaze. It had not been a pleasant feeling.

_Like a bug under a magnifying glass,_ came the thought in her mind. Or perhaps it wasn't her thought. Perhaps it was that presence she had felt earlier, still controlling her, manipulating her thoughts--

A shudder, and she forced herself away from that line of thought. She was just anxious, she knew. Just... just nervous about what Archie was doing. What he was planning on doing. That was all.

_**~blood~**_

"Sir."

Gary Oak let his chair swivel around. "Yes?" he said, addressing the grunt who stood before his desk.

"Do you still have doubts as to the loyalty of Admin Drew?"

A slow, lazy smile spread across his face. "What do you think?"

"Y-yes, sir?"

"You're correct." A chuckle. "Unusual." Then he sighed and looked back up at the grunt. "I plan to have his quarters searched soon. Find me any plausible reason you can, is that clear? I think I've told you this before."

"Yes. Yes, sir, you have."

"Good." He swiveled back to face the wall. He wasn't very sure why he did it since he would have to swivel back in order to complete the paperwork on his desk, but it seemed like most evil, cold, ruthless villains liked doing it.

So he did.

And the grunt left.

**_~blood~~~~_**

Archie glowered at the grunts before him. They were standing in the hallway outside of his office, and all activity seemed to have come to a standstill as every Aqua in the vicinity tried to get a good look at the scene.

"What," he growled, "are you saying?"

"I mean, sir, that the Magmas are gaining ground. They have been doing so for the past day."

"_What?"_ He whirled around to face his Admins. "_Why has no one told me about this?"_

"W-we assumed that you knew... sir," Shelly added hastily.

"How many times have I told you not to assume? How many times, _Admin Shelly_?" he spat.

"Many times, sir."

"And how many times have you assumed that I knew something that I did not?"

She cringed. "Just as many times."

"There you go!" He held a hand toward her, presenting her to the crowd as if she were a Pokemon on exhibit. "There you go. The great Admin Shelly. The courageous and ruthless Admin Shelly. Slipping up because she _assumed_." He laughed, the sound of it alone in the dimly lit hallways. "Isn't it _hilarious_?"

A few scattered chuckles, and then the whole of the Aqua crowd began to laugh weakly. When Archie was satisfied, he turned back to Shelly.

"Now," he said, mouth lowered to her ear, voice low and dangerous, "Let's see how well you _assume_ in battle, eh? Actually--" he turned again, "let's all join our Magma friends on the battlefield, shall we? We'll show them that we aren't simply _fools_," directed at Shelly and the rest of his Admins, "who know only to assume. We will spill their blood--" a yell from the crowd, "spill their guts--" another roar, "and we will slaughter them all like Mareeps!"

There was a rousing cheer, because battle was all they lived for.


End file.
